Optical communication uses light to carry information. In electronic systems, a transmitter, such as a light-emitting diode (LED) or one or more other light sources, can provide an optical signal to a detector, such as a photodiode. In various examples, the transmitter can provide the optical signal directly to the detector, or the optical signal can be transmitted between the transmitter and the detector using an optical interconnect, such as optical cables. Traditional optical interconnects have a higher bandwidth and lower loss than metal interconnects over large distances. However, metal interconnects can provide cost and performance benefits at smaller distances, at smaller scale, or where a high density of interconnects are required.